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Revision as of 06:19, 10 October 2005 by 81.153.19.86 (talk) (→Clothing)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, or VMK, is a free massively multiplayer online game run by The Walt Disney Company. It is a virtual representation of the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, and contains areas and games which are based on real park attractions.
The beta version opened publicly on May 23, 2005 with Main Street, Fantasyland, and Adventureland available to players. The game was no longer in beta as of June 27, 2005. Game areas of Frontierland and Tomorrowland were made available on October 5, 2005.
Gameplay
A new player begins by visiting "http://vmk.com/" and clicking "Enter Game". The player creates an account (linked to an email address), then makes an avatar, and selects the avatar's gender and appearance (shirt, shoes, pants, hair, hat, face, and colors for skin and hair). The player also selects a "guest room" which can be decorated with furniture and posters. One room is provided for free, and additional rooms can be purchased later with in-game "credits." The avatar is given a few tradable items (mainly T-shirts), and is placed in the game.
Activities an avatar can do in the VMK include:
- Walking around from area to area, exploring to find what sorts of things are available, and visiting other players' guest rooms.
- Chatting with other players (though the available vocabulary is limited; see Dictionary below).
- Trading pins, posters, shirts, and furniture with other players. These items are only virtual, and have no "real-world" significance.
- Playing games; see Games below.
- Searching for "Hidden Mickeys"; see Hidden Mickeys below.
- Searching for hidden characters such as Shrunken Ned and Captain Blackheart. Clicking on a hidden character awards credits and pins. See Characters below.
An avatar can "wear" up to eight pins at a time so that other players can see them in his profile. "Magic pins" can also be found which, when activated, create a brief visual effect.
A visitor to Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom can create an avatar at a special VMK kiosk. An avatar created in a park will start off with additional credits and items, and its profile (visible to other players) has a special "Born in the Park" icon in it. A park visitor can go on "Quests" in these two theme parks to win trading cards with codes on them which award in-game items. The purchase of certain items (such as a gold mouse ears hat or a collectible pin) will grant a collectible card with a code to obtain an item in the game.
The game is in operation between 10:00am and 1:00am EST (7:00am-10:00pm PST, 2:00pm-5:00am GMT).
The game engine uses Macromedia Shockwave. Virtual Magic Kingdom was created by Sulake Corporation, the company that also created the online multiplayer game Habbo Hotel, and it bears several similarities to that game.
Environment
The Virtual Magic Kingdom consists of "rooms", each depicted in isometric projection, and each with a distinct theme. Each room has at least one exit which leads to another room.
No more than fifteen avatars can occupy a room at any one time. If a player tries to enter someone's guest room which already contains fifteen avatars, he will be put into a queue to wait to enter. The public rooms all have multiple "instances", named after compass directions (such as the "North-East-East" instance), and each instance can have up to fifteen avatars in it. When moving around the public rooms, an avatar will be randomly placed in an instance of a room unless the player selects "Advanced Mode," in which he can select an instance for his avatar to enter.
During the month of October 2005, all the rooms along Main Street were decorated for Halloween.
Dictionary
In conversations, room descriptions, and other places where players are allowed to enter freeform text, the game uses an undisclosed list of allowed words. If a player types a word not on the list, it flashes in red to warn him that it will not be accepted; and if he tries to use it anyway, it appears to other players as "###". Some of the more notable words missing from the allowed list are all numbers, names of states, and names of major cities, presumably to protect players by preventing them from divulging their ages or locations. Rooms in the game are monitored by administrators; any attempt to outwit the safeguards and reveal personal information will result in a warning from an administrator.
Previously, players had been able to use the names of other avatars in conversation; thus, if a player existed with the name "Bubba", everyone could type the name "Bubba" and have it appear in chat. As a result, users created throwaway characters whose names were words they wanted to be able to use in chat, and many of these names were approved by the administrators. However, as of October 5, 2005, this was changed so that players may now only type the names of avatars in the room with them or on their friends list.
Games
Several minigames are available to play in the Virtual Magic Kingdom.
In Pirates of the Caribbean, two teams of up to four players each sail ships and fire cannons to sink opponents. Winning the game awards credits. There are three difficulty levels to the game; ten victories on Level 1 awards a pin and access to the Level 2, ten victories on Level 2 awards a pin and access to Level 3, and ten victories on Level 3 awards another pin.
In Castle Fireworks, fireworks are launched into the sky and the player must click on each one with the correct symbol to detonate it. Pins are awarded based on a player's performance.
In the Jungle Cruise Photo Safari, the player pilots a ship and takes photos of animals while avoiding obstacles. Credits are awarded for playing the game.
In the Street Party Music Game, a player can sequence music loops into a song for avatars to dance to. Credits are awarded for editing songs and for playing them.
Three games are available in the Tomorrowland Arcade. Airlock Escape is a puzzle game with some similarity to ChuChu Rocket!; successful completion of all fifteen levels will award all three pieces of the Deep Sea Diving costume. Hyperspace Mountain and Blast in Space are both listed as "coming soon."
The Haunted Mansion Ghost Chasers game, located in Frontierland, is listed as "Haunting Soon" and can not yet be played.
Events
The Virtual Magic Kingdom occasionally holds special events at which prizes are given out.
Parade and scavenger hunt: While VMK was still in testing among a private group, an event was held where players were told to gather on Main Street and "parade" along its length. Then a few specific players "hid" themselves in some rooms in the game, and the first people to find each of them were awarded prizes.
Room decorating event: Players were told to decorate their rooms to be judged. On Saturday was the judging of the Celebration theme; players whose rooms were found to best commemorate Disneyland's 50th anniversary won prizes. Sunday featured judging of the Space theme, letting players decorate their interpretation of what "space" meant to them. Prizes were also given for answering trivia questions. (Some players did not receive a visit from judges and were promised an Invisibility magic pin as a consolation prize; some of these people never received it.)
Pin-trading event: Rooms were judged based on a pin-trading theme, and prizes were awarded. A Lounging Lion pin was given out during this event.
Haunted Maze event: On October 8 and 9, a maze event was held. An easy maze, a medium maze, and a difficult maze were available for players to try finding their way through, and successfully completing the maze would award a prize. (Respectively: 100 credits, a Haunted Mansion Master Gracey pin, and a Candy Cauldron.) However, the event was plagued by server problems; a large number of people were not able to get into the mazes or were bumped offline in the middle of them, and the wait queue to start the mazes was more than 500 people at times. Serious server problems on the 8th resulted in people not being able to enter some rooms at all and the game was closed for several hours throughout the day in attempts to fix the issues; on the 9th the game was more stable but still dropped people who had waited in line for a half-hour or more.
Quests and prizes at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom
Several in-park "quests" are currently available at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. (The specific questions in the quests are different in each park.)
A location at the Magic Kingdom (on Main Street, U.S.A. ) or at Disneyland (in Tomorrowland) provides quest handouts containing multiple-choice questions for the Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland quests. A player explores the park to find answers, then returns to his starting point so his answers can be checked and prizes can be awarded. The questions require the player to spot details in the park, such as counting the number of keys on the keyring being held by the dog in Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon completing these quests, the player is awarded prize cards (with codes for in-game items) depending on what answers he or she got right, as well as a glow-in-the-dark wristband for getting all correct answers in any one quest.
A Tomorrowland quest is available online to print out and bring to a park.
A player who completes quests successfully is eligible for a special VMK Insider Tour, which includes the Haunted Mansion quest (and, at Disneyland, the Pirates of the Caribbean quest) and the opportunity to win more prizes. The exact rules for winning the Insider Tour don't appear to be consistent or well-understood among the cast members staffing the VMK counter. Some give the card upon completion of the original three quests (Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland); some give it upon completion of any three quests (of the original three plus Tomorrowland); some give it only upon completion of all four quests.
A player must wait ninety days before being awarded any particular prize (including the wristband) again.
Prize cards are given out at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom for answering quest questions successfully. Each has a single-use code printed on it; entering this code into the game will grant the named prize to the player.
Series 1 prize cards
These prize cards are awarded in the parks for successful completion of quests. The complete set of Series 1 cards is on display at VMK Central in the parks.
- 1/30 Disneyland Golden Show Designer Collection
- 2/30 Madame Leota's Crystal Ball Collection (Haunted Mansion question 1 prize)
- 3/30 Aladdin's Flying Carpet Chair (Adventureland quest level 1 prize)
- 4/30 Haunted Mansion Ghostly Organ (Haunted Mansion question 5 prize)
- 5/30 Invisibility Magic Spell (Haunted Mansion question 2 prize)
- 6/30 Haunted Mansion Conservatory Guest Room (Haunted Mansion quest completion prize)
- 7/30 Stitch's Tomorrowland Teleporter (Tomorrowland quest level 2 prize)
- 8/30 Tomorrowland Rocketship Couch (Tomorrowland quest level 1 prize)
- 9/30 Tomorrowland Teleportation Magic Spell (Tomorrowland quest level 3 prize)
- 10/30 Captain Nemo's Nautilus Chair
- 11/30 Adventureland Retro Pin (Adventureland quest level 2 prize)
- 12/30 Adventureland Explorer's Suitcase Sofa (Adventureland quest level 3 prize)
- 13/30 Master Gracey's Grandfather Clock (Haunted Mansion question 4 prize)
- 14/30 Jungle Cruise Explorer's Tent Guest Room
- 15/30 Adventureland Jungle Cruise Hippo Rug
- 16/30 Adventureland Safari Lifestyle Collection
- 17/30 Adventureland Explorer's Safari Carpet
- 18/30 Gorilla Jungle Cruise Photo Safari Poster
- 19/30 Rhino Jungle Cruise Photo Safari Poster
- 20/30 Frontierland Ace of Spade (sic) Carpet (Frontierland quest level 1 prize)
- 21/30 Frontierland Cactus Armchair (Frontierland quest level 2 prize)
- 22/30 Frontierland Saddle Seats Sofa (Frontierland quest level 3 prize)
- 23/30 Big Thunder Mountain Teleporter
- 24/30 Haunted Mansion Rocking Chair (Haunted Mansion question 3 prize)
- 25/30 Fantasyland Castle Retro Pin (Fantasyland quest level 1 prize)
- 26/30 Prince Phillip's Briarstone (Fantasyland quest level 2 prize)
- 27/30 Huntsman's Heartless Hamper (Fantasyland quest level 3 prize)
- 28/30 Haunted Mansion Graveyard Tree (Haunted Mansion question 6 prize)
- 29/30 Virtual Magic Kingdom Credits
- 30/30 VMK Insider Tour (prize for completing the in-park quests (see Quests above); awards a VIP badge)
Series 2 prize cards
These prize cards are awarded by the new Pirates of the Caribbean quest and the revision of the Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland quests which all appeared at Disneyland in September 2005 (and have not yet appeared at the Magic Kingdom). Not all the Series 2 cards have yet been seen publicly.
- 1/30 VMK Fantasyland Quest Pin
- 2/30 VMK Frontierland Quest Pin
- 3/30 VMK Adventureland Quest Pin
- 4/30 Flaming Ransacked Window
- 5/30 Crow's Nest Barstool
- 6/30 Seagull's Nest Pirate Hat
- 7/30 Pirate Treasure Rug
- 8/30 Captain's Quarters Couch
- 9/30 Pirate Insider Tour Pin
- 10/30 Pirate Prison Guest Room
Merchandise cards
These prize cards are given with the purchase of various items around the parks. The locations are different for Disneyland than they are for the Magic Kingdom. One of the six cards can not be obtained from Disneyland; another can not be obtained from the Magic Kingdom.
- 1/6 Fantasyland Magic Mirror
- DL: buy any magic trick at the Main Street Magic Shop
- this card is not available at the Magic Kingdom
- 2/6 Happiest Celebration On Earth Pin
- DL: buy any pin at Little Green Men Store Command in Tomorrowland
- MK: buy any pin at Frontier Mercantile in Frontierland
- 3/6 Golden Mickey Ears
- DL: buy any hat from any hat shop except Star Trader
- MK: buy any hat at Chapeau on Main Street
- 4/6 Frontierland Wanted Poster
- this card is not available at Disneyland
- MK: buy a photo at Splash Mountain or Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- 5/6 Retro Mickey T-Shirt
- DL: buy any shirt at Star Trader in Tomorrowland
- MK: buy any shirt at Sir Mickey's in Fantasyland
- 6/6 Disneyland Retro Penny Press
- DL: buy any candy at Pooh Corner Honey Spot in Critter Country
- MK: buy any candy at Prairie Outpost & Supply in Frontierland
Items that can belong to an avatar
Players can customize their avatars' appearance and rooms.
Badges
Badges are icons that appear at the top of a player's information window visible to other players. Badges cannot be traded.
- Born In Park: given to an avatar created at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom
- VIP: given via a prize card's code; the card is given after completing the in-park quests (see Quests above) to become eligible for the special park tour
- Here from Day 1: given to an avatar created prior to June 27, 2005
- VMK Staff: paid employees who help safeguard players; their names begin with "VMK_"
- Community Leader: volunteers who help with the game; their names begin with "CL_"
Pins
Numbered pins
- The Haunted Mansion (1/9) (Golden Horseshoe Saloon, 25 credits)
- Fantasyland Castle Retro (2/9) ("it's a small world" Imports, 250 credits; or an in-park quest)
- The Enchanted Tiki Room (3/9) (Shrunken Ned's Shop, 25 credits)
- Adventureland Retro (4/9) (in-park quest)
- Disneyland (5/9) (given to a new avatar created in a park)
- The Pirates of the Caribbean (6/9) (Shrunken Ned's Shop, 25 credits)
- The Matterhorn (7/9) ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
- Tomorrowland (8/9) (Star Traders, 250 credits; no longer available)
- It's A Small World (9/9) ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
Game prizes
- Bronze Mickey: photograph ten Hidden Mickeys
- Silver Mortimer: photograph thirty Hidden Mickeys
- Gold Oswald: photograph all fifty Hidden Mickeys
- Pirate Level 1 Bronze Doubloon: win ten Level 1 Pirates games
- Pirate Level 2 Silver Piece: visit Captain Blackheart after winning ten Level 2 Pirates games
- Pirate Level 3 Gold Sovereign: win ten Level 3 Pirates games
- Firework Level 1 Bronze: play four levels of Castle Fireworks, but get booted before reaching fifth level (one way to do this is to not score any points on the fourth level)
- Firework Level 2 Silver Rocket: play all five levels of Castle Fireworks
- Firework Level 3 Gold Spectacular: finish Castle Fireworks with a score above of 200,000, but do not win it
- Best Guest Room Award: a special pin occasionally awarded to the owner of a guest room chosen by VMK staff to be the best in originality and creativity
Magic pins
A magic pin must be worn to be activated. To activate it, either click the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen and then double-click the magic pin, or type the pin's magic word. If a player has two or more of the same kind of magic pin, they can be combined for a longer effect and shorter delay between uses.
The following magic pins can be obtained by entering codes found in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal (see Codes below), or can be tried by visiting "Discovery Island" in Adventureland:
- Buried In Treasure ("BlingBling!"): makes the avatar appear to become buried in gold coins.
- Cursed Storm ("BoomCrash!"): makes the avatar spin around in a cyclone.
- Pirate Costume ("YohoYoho!"): makes the avatar appear to be dressed as a pirate.
The following magic pins can be won from quests or games, or can be tried by visiting the "Spell Room" in Fantasyland:
- Dancing Inferno magic ("Inferno!"): makes the avatar appear to be dancing in flames. Very rare, it is only given out by staff members during special events.
- Fireworks magic ("Rocket!"): makes fireworks shower over the avatar's head. To obtain it, get a score of over 240,000 in the Castle Fireworks game, but do not come in first place.
- Invisibility magic ("Spooky!"): makes the avatar translucent. To obtain it, win ten Level 3 Pirates games, or complete the in-park Haunted Mansion quest.
- Magic Carpet magic ("Whoosh!"): makes the avatar appear to be floating on a magic carpet. This pin is not yet available to players.
- Teleportation magic ("Jump!"): relocates the avatar to any other location in the room. To obtain it, complete the in-park Tomorrowland quest.
Character pins
Visit the characters to obtain these pins; see Characters below.
- Captain Blackheart
- Esmeralda the Fortuneteller
- Malificent the Dragon
- Shrunken Ned
- The Yeti
Limited edition pins
In the months of July, August, and September 2005, special pins have been available, generally one per weekend. These pins are usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon become valuable items in trading.
- Jungle Cruise Lounging Lion (from staff during the special "Pin Trading" weekend event)
- Jungle Cruise Talking Toucan (Shrunken Ned's, 250 credits)
- Jungle Cruise Zebra Stripes (Shrunken Ned's, 1000 credits)
- Hong Kong Adventureland Pin (Shrunken Ned's, 250 credits)
- Hong Kong Fantasyland Pin ("it's a small world" Imports, 250 credits)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Pin (Emporium, 250 credits)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Pin (Emporium, 1000 credits)
- Hong Kong Main Street USA (Emporium, 250 credits)
- Hong Kong Tomorrowland Pin (Star Traders, 250 credits)
- Tomorrowland Flying Saucers Retro pin (1/5) (Star Traders, 1000 credits)
- Tomorrowland PeopleMover Retro Pin (2/5) (Star Traders, 500 credits)
- Tomorrowland Skyway Retro Pin (3/5) (Star Traders, 1000 credits)
- Tomorrowland Motor Boat Retro Pin (4/5) (Star Traders, 1000 credits)
- Tomorrowland Submarine Voyage Retro Pin (5/5) (Star Traders, 250 credits)
- The Haunted Mansion Gravedigger Pin (Emporium, 500 credits)
- The Haunted Mansion Master Gracey Pin (A prize for completing the Difficult maze during the October 8-9 event)
- The Haunted Mansion Madame Leota Pin (Given to a select few people)
Other pins
- Aladdin ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
- Alice in Wonderland ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
- Autopia (Star Traders, 25 credits)
- Cinderella ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
- Disney's Animal Kingdom (Emporium, 25 credits)
- Disney's California Adventure (Emporium, 25 credits)
- Disney-MGM Studio (Emporium, 25 credits)
- Dumbo ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
- Epcot (Emporium, 25 credits)
- Happiest Celebration on Earth (buy a pin at a park; see Merchandise cards above)
- Nightmare Before Christmas (Emporium, 25 credits)
- Rocketship (Star Traders, 25 credits)
- Snow White ("it's a small world" Imports, 25 credits)
Clothing
Occasionally, the VMK shops sell special clothing items (or entire costumes). Some of these can only be purchased during a specific weekend. These items are usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon become valuable items in trading. (Princess items can not be purchased by boy avatars.)
These costume items are available for purchase in the game:
- Baseball Cap
- Explorer's Jacket Green, Explorer's Jacket With Camera Green, Explorer's Shorts Green, Explorer's Boots
- Hong Kong T-Shirt Blue
The following costume can be won by playing Airlock Escape Game:
- Deep Sea Diving Boots, Deep Sea Diving Jacket, Deep Sea Diving Trousers
Several other clothing items have been sighted, but are not currently available for purchase. These include a blue princess dress, superhero outfits in various colors, Toy Story outfits, a Stitch outfit and Haunted Mansion costumes. Many players speculate that these will become available prior to Halloween.
These costume items are no longer available for purchase:
- Sorcerer Mickey Hat
- Mission Space Helmet, Mission Space Vest, Mission Space Pants, Mission Space Shoes
- Princess Tiara
- Princess Bodice Yellow, Princess Hooped Skirt Yellow, Princess Slippers Yellow
- Princess Bodice Pink, Princess Hooped Skirt Pink, Princess Slippers Pink
- Cowboy Hat, Cowboy Shirt Black, Cowboy Shirt Brown, Cowboy Shirt With Vest Black, Cowboy Shirt With Vest Brown, Cowboy Pants
- Native American Headdress, Native American Vest, Native American Shoes
Guest rooms
When a player first creates his avatar in the game, he is given one free "guest room" which he can name and decorate with items. He is allowed to choose the style of his free room from these four:
- Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
- Boot Hill Shooting Gallery
- Mad Hatter's Tea Party
- Nautilus Submarine Room
If the player is creating his character in a park, then he is given another four rooms (one of each of the above) as a bonus.
The other rooms available are:
- Haunted Mansion Conservatory: available from the Haunted Mansion quest during the VMK Insider Tour
- Jungle Cruise Explorer's Tent: available from a card won during the VMK Insider Tour, or from a certificate awarded for getting one of the top ten Jungle Cruise scores of the day (the certificate must be redeemed at a park)
- Maleficent's Evil Fortress: purchase for 500 credits, or won in the Fireworks game with a score of 200,000 points (or more) and a position of 3rd or worse.
- Pirate Prison: available from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" quest during the VMK Insider Tour
- Skull Rock: earned from a code given in the Kellogg's "Conquer the Sea" online game; see Codes below
- Tomorrowland Outerspace: purchase for 500 credits
- Tomorrowland Space Mountian: Coming soon: being tested by Yavn.
The shops sell a wide variety of items, such as posters, couches, water fountains, and rugs, which can be used to decorate guest rooms. Some of these items are only sold for a limited time. Some can only be obtained as quest prizes.
Characters
A player is given 40 credits and a pin upon first visiting each of these characters (by double-clicking on him or her). Another 20 credits are given each time the player revisits the same character, as long as at least twelve hours have passed since the last payout.
- Captain Blackheart, in Pirate Treehouse
- Esmeralda the Fortuneteller, in Emporium
- Maleficent the Dragon, in Dungeon
- Shrunken Ned, in Shrunken Ned's Shop
- The Yeti, in Matterhorn
Hidden Mickeys
There are fifty Hidden Mickeys in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms. Hunting for Hidden Mickeys can be a difficult task, as they are faint and rather difficult to see, and it can take time to earn enough credits to buy film. Each room has at least one, and some contain two.
To begin the Hidden Mickey hunt, stop in to VMK Central and double-click on the camera sign. Buy a Camera and 3 Film for 200 credits. Additional packs of 5 Film are another 200 credits each. When you find a Hidden Mickey, photograph it with the camera icon at the bottom of the game window. Credits and pins are awarded after finding certain numbers of Hidden Mickeys.
These are the location descriptions given by the game as the Hidden Mickeys are found and photographed.
- Adventureland Bazaar, POTC entrance
- Banquet Hall, banner
- Banquet Hall, spiderweb
- Castle Fireworks Lobby, right turret
- Castle Fireworks Lobby, tallest turret
- Castle Forecourt, tower
- Castle Gardens, evil
- Castle Gardens, good
- Castle Spell Room, table
- Castle Spell Room, wall
- Central Plaza, brickwork
- Central Plaza, topiary
- Dungeon, dragon head
- Dungeon, dragon tail
- Elephant Bathing Pool, ruins
- Emporium, drapery
- Emporium, tarot card
- Explorer's Tent, rock
- Explorer's Tent, waterfall
- Fantasyland In the Sky, Matterhorn
- Forbidden Temple, chains
- Forbidden Temple, fallen column
- Gallery, Castle stained glass
- Gallery, Sleeping Beauty stained glass
- Golden Horseshoe Shop, balcony
- Golden Horseshoe Shop, wall
- Jungle Cruise Dock, pier
- Jungle Cruise Dock, wall
- Lost Safari Party, far shore
- Lost Safari Party, lion's den
- Main Street, VMK Central
- Matterhorn, stage entrance
- Matterhorn, waterfall
- Monorail Train, nose
- Music Game, rooftop
- Pirate Treehouse, sail
- Pirates of the Caribbean Game Lobby, sail
- Shrunken Ned's Shop, pirate flag
- Snow White's Hide n' Seek Forest, tree
- Star Trader's Shop, wall
- Storybookland, mine
- Storybookland, treetop
- Street Party Music Game, blinds
- Tiki Tiki Tiki Island, temple entrance
- Tiki Tiki Tiki Island, tunnel
- Town Square, Emporium
- Town Square, platform
- VMK Central, stage
- "it's a small world" Imports, crate
- "it's a small world" Imports, thrones
Codes
A player can enter codes to obtain items and credits. Each code consists of sixteen letters and/or numbers. They are provided on cards and wristbands given as prizes for quests at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, in certain issues of Disney Adventure Magazine, and in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal (Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Krunchers, Froot Loops, and Rice Krispies).
There are two kinds of codes. Single-use codes are unique and are only valid for one use by a single player; these are the ones given on prize cards. Multi-use codes are good for one use by any player; the same code is provided in each cereal box, for example. (An avatar can not use a multi-use code more than once. If a player buys three boxes of cereal and the same code appears in all three, that code can still only be used once.)
There is a Kellogg's "Conquer the Sea" game online which will dispense one single-use code to a player. This code will award a few pirate-themed prizes including the Skull Rock room.
Below is a list of known multi-use codes.
- LAB9-RR3K-EBSK-B9D3: Awards VMK T-shirt. Printed on the inside of the glow-in-the-dark wristband given as a reward for in-park quests.
- KLS9-R569-9RJK-CLUG: Awards Cursed Storm magic pin. Available from Kellogg's cereal. (Before June 27, 2005, this code awarded a Buried in Treasure magic pin.)
- EUF8-B5BL-9RKC-Y9ZW: Awards Buried in Treasure magic pin. Available from Kellogg's cereal. (Before June 27, 2005, this code awarded a Pirate Costume magic pin.)
- MTNQ-JDL9-AKT7-99BE: Awards Pirate Costume magic pin. Available from Kellogg's cereal.
- QNEL-NTBW-KLDU-GB2C: Awards 500 credits. From the June 2005 Disney Adventure magazine.
- WBRK-LBAG-KQNL-B9N9: Awards 500 credits. From the Summer 2005 Disney Adventure magazine.
- 62RH-TFR5-773V-AEYM: Awards 100 credits. From a VMK email advertisement sent by Disney.
- 4JVU-7BJ3-BK69-EEDQ: Awards 100 credits.
- 4CJ4-2XVH-RLLB-W3N3: Awards 50 credits. From the "Disney Remix Mania" CD.
- A8TM-5VAM-FTNB-EYXE: Awards 50 credits. From Disney Florida Passholders newsletter.
- BL5Z-PBFC-2SCB-7GHT: Awards 50 credits. From a VMK flyer distributed in parks.
- GQYM-EBVX-FAEG-QHH6: Awards 50 credits. From park maps.
- L55H-VB5U-L6JY-68CA: Awards 50 credits. From Downtown Disney Ad.
- YBAX-KBHB-CRJB-8Y5R: Awards 50 credits. From VMK ad at VMK Central.
- LTDB-MZBK-G65V-WBVX: Awards 50 credits. From World of Disney NYC Flyer.
Most magic pins acquired through codes may not be traded to other avatars as this prevents a player from getting to many magic pins by creating multipule accounts and trading the pins to his main avatar.
Acquiring credits
Accounts used specifically for getting credits and items, known in other games as multis, are called "mules" in VMK. Since the game lets a player create new accounts freely, players create mules (named after the beast of burden) to enter multi-use codes and collect credits by visiting characters. Players can buy items with a mule's credits, and then trade these items from the mules to their main characters.
Another popular way to amass credits is called "Nedding". It consists of playing the Shrunken Ned's Jungle Cruise game but trying to end the game as quickly as possible by crashing repeatedly and running out of fuel. Each time the game is played it awards 20 credits, so the credits that can be gotten from this game are limited only by the length of time someone wants to put into it.
Community
Players whose avatars meet in the same room at the same time can become "friends": one issues an invitation to the other, and if the other accepts, then each player will always be able to see if the other is online and in what game location, and will be able to jump instantly to the other avatar's location. Either player can cancel this "friends" connection at any time. Outside of friends, there is no way within the game to find out whether a particular other avatar is online or in what room.
Disney prohibits sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also adds a technical obstacle to this). Disney's stated intent is to protect the safety and privacy of its members, but this also prevents members from having a legitimate way of reaching each other outside the game.
Players have found a way around this by putting certain phrases in their public signatures, a short bit of text which is visible to any other player who clicks on the avatar.
- The use of "VMK Kingdom" in a signature means that the player is a member of the VMKingdom website
- The use of "Dis member" or "Dis board member" means that the player is a member of the DISboards web site.
- The use of "Disney ears" means that the player is a member of the Disney EchoEars web site.
- The use of "Enter Caught" means that the player is a member of the Intercot web site, but VMK now prohibits this phrase from being used in signatures and room names, so Intercot members use "WDW inside and out" instead.
- The use of "VMK fan site . (thing to catch fish)" means that the player is a member of the VMK Fansite web site.
Developers
A few of the game's testers and developers, among them one who goes by the name "yavn", are active in the game. ("yavn" derives from a Hebrew word meaning "to build".) They often show off pins, clothing, and rooms that are not yet publicly available.
Trading and scamming
Players can trade pins and room furnishings. One player clicks on someone's avatar to show an info window, then clicks 'Trade'. The other player will be asked if he wants to trade, and if he does, both players will see a trading window. Each player can double-click on his items to place them in the "offer" area, and once both players are satisfied, they each click an "accept" checkbox and that completes the trade. (Any change to either person's offer will clear both "accept" checkboxes and require both players to accept again.)
Some clothing items are only available for boys or girls, and cannot be traded to the other gender. For example, a girl can not trade her princess outfit to a boy.
Some players try to take advantage of the trading window to scam other players. What usually happens is that a scammer will offer a valuable item for trade, he will ask someone else to put lots of good items into the offer area, and then he will quickly withdraw his valuable item and replace it with a cheap item and click "accept", hoping the other person won't notice the switch. A scammer can be reported by clicking the "Help" button at the bottom of the VMK window then clicking the "Call for Help" tab, but VMK staff does not appear to be often successful at returning lost items. As of October 5, trading was altered slightly so that after both users accept, they are shown an unchangeable summary of the items to be traded and they are asked to accept again, to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Another common scam involves teleporters; a scammer will trade a pair of teleporters which appear to be identical but are not "matched" and therefore won't work together (using either might send an avatar someplace unintended, or might not function at all). There is no way to see whether a pair of teleporters are "matched" other than trying them.
Future
Frontierland is currently listed as "Coming Soon". The only areas of Frontierland and Tomorrowland that can be reached at this time are the shops and the gaming areas (though the Haunted Mansion Ghost Chasers game in Frontierland can not yet be played; all that's available is the area outside the Mansion). According to information given on the VMK Insider Tour, these lands will be available in December. Tomorrowland will be visually inspired by the stories of Jules Verne.